A surprising bit of info on their running experience.

California researchers gathered information on running history, training habits, and race experience from 1,345 current and former ultramarathoners. For the most part, the findings weren't surprising. Ultra runners tend to do their first ultra later in life (average age of 36) than most people do their first race at shorter distances. And ultra runners tend to train a lot, with the active ultramarathoners surveyed having run more than 2,000 miles in the preceding year.

But, it appears, newer ultra runners are going beyond 26.2 miles earlier in their running lives than they used to.

"Age at first ultramarathon did not change across the past several decades, but there was evidence of an inverse relationship between number of years of regular running prior to the first ultramarathon and calendar year," the researchers wrote. Roughly 25% of the current ultramarathoners surveyed had been running for three or fewer years.

This finding is consistent with anecdotal observations at ultramarathons in recent years. This is especially true of trail ultras, which have enjoyed a spike in popularity coincident with the success of the book Born to Run and a back-to-basics movement centered on reconnecting with nature and, often, simplifying running, including footwear.